Dead or Alive 5 “Bouncy” Preview

-More Bouncy Fun Coming Our Way!-

I haven’t played a DOA game extensively since I got a copy of the PlayStation 2 version of Dead or Alive 2
(called Hardcore.) I really liked that game because it had deep gameplay, rich 3D visuals, a few gripping
fighting systems and some electrifying multiplayer modes. Since then though, no other game in the
series has been able to capture my attention in a similar way, after all, DOA 3 was an Xbox exclusive and
I was really interested in checking out DOA 4 but for some reason, it never happened. Now that DOA 5’s
release is around the corner, I’m intrigued to know what has changed since I played the second iteration
of the series so many years ago.

Something noticeable about Dead or Alive 5 is that this is the first title in the series that has been
released in multiple platforms since DOA 2 (and the first DOA ever released on the PlayStation 3 for that
matter.) From a gameplay perspective not a lot has changed, for the game uses the rock-paper-scissors
approach so characteristic of the fighting series. As usual, the players can interact in different ways with
the arenas which are now completely destroyable. If you would like to play this game just so you can
push one of your opponents off ledges, cliffs or other high places, DOA 5 definitely offers that.

Additionally, it’s worth noting that some of these stages have scripted events while others are
activated by players’ actions, such as throwing a given character into a danger zone. To add even more
interaction, the story mode is deeper than past iterations. Controls are supposed to be quite similar to
previous installments and since those games weren’t necessarily very difficult to pick up, this is great for newcomers.

Of course, in order to compete with modern fighting games any new title in the genre needs to
feature a robust online multiplayer mode and it seems like DOA 5 will have a lot to offer in this regard,
though Namco hasn’t confirmed anything as of this writing. The game will offer both local and online
multiplayer, and it has been confirmed that the latter will not have the DOA 4 lobbies where players
could interact with their avatars. Apparently, these negatively affected the game’s netcode and caused lag.

This wouldn’t be a DOA preview if breasts weren’t mentioned (make of that what you will…) It seems
like this has been a topic of discussion ever since the second title in the series featured“breasts physics.” Although graphical detail and character models have been improved significantly since the release of DOA 4, developers are toning down the over-sexuality of some of the characters. Female characters will have more modest breasts sizes and the breast physics have been toned down a little bit.

There are, on the other hand, dirt and sweat physics, allowing for transparencies on the different costumes… I guess this is DOA after all. That’s pretty much all the information about the game thus far. Something that is worth pointing out is that some guest characters from the Virtual Fighter series will be playable. DOA 5 is coming for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on September 25th in North America and September 28th in Europe.